With Timberwolves point guard Ricky Rubio recently getting some criticism about his play, Wolves President of Basketball Operations Flip Saunders has come to his defense.

Rubio has had a frustrating season. He usually is a brilliant passer, but his shooting and decisionmaking — especially down the stretch of close games — has often been poor.

Saunders says he still believes fully in Rubio, and that the Wolves need to be patient with his offensive development.

“Here’s the thing,” said Saunders, a former point guard himself. “Ricky is 23 and he’s still somewhat young and he’s only played 100 games in our league. Is he not shooting the ball well? There’s no question. Has he at times made what some might call questionable decisions? Yeah. But there’s some things you can’t teach, and you can’t teach his offensive instinct and his passing ability.”

Going into Sunday’s game with the Spurs, Rubio was sixth in the league in assists at 8.2 per game and his 12.4 assists per 48 minutes trails only the Clippers’ Chris Paul at 15.5. He was second in the league in steals at 2.67 per game and was sixth in rebounding among NBA guards at 4.7 per game.

But Rubio’s 34.6 field-goal percentage is the worst among qualified NBA players this season and is on pace to be one of the worst shooting percentages in NBA history. His scoring average also has dipped by nearly two points per game, from 10.7 last year to 8.8 this season.

Rubio’s other major issue has been his performance in the final minutes of close games. According to NBA.com, in the final five minutes of the 19 games where the Wolves were either ahead or behind by five points, Rubio has been averaging only 0.6 points per game on 12.5 percent shooting, something that has to change.

Saunders said Rubio is aware of what he has to do to become a complete star in this league.

“He does have to learn how to knock down shots and knock down 15-, 20-foot shots and score around the basket on layups,” Saunders said. “So what is going to separate him from being a good guard to maybe being an All-Star-type guard is how he works on those [things].”

Saunders also took issue with people questioning Rubio’s work ethic.

“There have been people that have questioned, ‘Well, does he work out in the summer?’ ” Saunders said. “I can tell you this: He shoots and spends more time in that gym shooting than just about anyone we have. It’s not for a lack of trying. He just has to keep on working on it and hopefully it will kick in.

“It’s similar to what happened with John Wall down in Washington, who I [coached]. … We encouraged him to shoot and he shot poor percentages, but eventually he learned how to shoot and now he’s averaging over 20 a game and he’s an All-Star guard.”

Saunders also drew a parallel with former MVP Steve Nash, who, at the age of 24, was coming off his third season in the league in 1998-99 when he shot only 36.3 percent from the field and averaged 7.9 points per game after being traded from Phoenix to Dallas.

“People were about ready to give up on Steve Nash,” Saunders said. “He got traded to Dallas, Dallas was ready to give up on him and they didn’t know if he was ever going to play. [By 2004-05], he’s the MVP of the league. I’m not saying Ricky is going to turn into that, but as a young player I think you have to be somewhat patient.”

Musgrave connection

Bengals defensive coordinator Mike Zimmer, who is reported to be coming in for a second interview with the Vikings this week, could keep offensive coordinator Bill Musgrave if he were hired.

Zimmer was the defensive coordinator in Atlanta in 2007 when Musgrave was the quarterbacks coach there from 2006-09. Besides working in Atlanta and Cincinnati, Zimmer was with the Cowboys from 1994-2006 as a defensive backs coach and then defensive coordinator.

Harvin vs. Patterson

The Vikings traded wide receiver Percy Harvin to the Seahawks last March, then traded up for an extra first-round draft pick that landed Cordarrelle Patterson.

Harvin caught one pass for 17 yards in the regular season for the Seahawks, after having offseason hip surgery, then grabbed three receptions for 21 yards against the Saints in an NFC playoff game Saturday before suffering a concussion. The odds are he won’t play in the NFC Championship Game against the 49ers, according to reports out of Seattle.

Compare that to Patterson, who had 45 receptions for 469 yards and four touchdowns to go along with three rushing TDs and two kickoff returns for scores this year and is one of the more promising parts of the Vikings’ future.

Former Vikings wide receiver Sidney Rice, also with Seattle but out for the season after tearing his ACL in October, caught 15 passes for 231 yards and three touchdowns before the injury. In three seasons in Seattle, he has had 97 career receptions for 1,463 yards and 12 touchdowns. By comparison, Rice caught 83 passes for 1,312 yards and eight touchdowns for the Vikings in 2009 alone.

Jottings

• That was Twins owner Bill Pohlad on stage at the Golden Globes when “12 Years a Slave” won Best Picture in the drama category Sunday night. Pohlad was one of the main producers on the film. It was the second film produced by Pohlad to win a Golden Globe for best drama; he also won for “Brokeback Mountain” in 2006.

• Indications are that Gophers athletic director Norwood Teague will not hire a replacement deputy athletic director for David Benedict, who is going to Auburn, but instead will turn some of Benedict’s duties over to one or more staff members, with some promotions coming.

• Saunders was in East Lansing, Mich., on Saturday for the Gophers-Michigan State game. Even though Minnesota lost in overtime, he thought the team’s performance was the best he has seen by the Gophers in a long time. … Still, it won’t help the Gophers to face Ohio State here Thursday after the Buckeyes have lost two consecutive games for the first time in a long time — at Michigan State in overtime and then to Iowa at home on Sunday. The Buckeyes will be determined not to lose three in a row.

• Twins President Dave St. Peter was asked if the addition of Paul Molitor to Ron Gardenhire’s staff will be a big plus this year. “I know Gardy feels really good about having him on his coaching staff, and having him in the dugout with him will make an impact,” St. Peter said. “Paul is a unique guy in that he’s one of the greatest players to ever play the game, but he’s also a great teacher. We’ve seen that up and down our minor league system for many, many years. So there’s no doubt in my mind that Paul should bring a level of leadership and also competitiveness that any club could benefit from. We’re excited to have him back in our dugout and back on the field.”

Sid Hartman can be heard weekdays on 830-AM at 7:40, 8:40 and 9:20 a.m. and on Sundays at 9:30 a.m. shartman@startribune.com

Sid Hartman is a sports columnist. He also can be heard weekdays on WCCO AM-830 at 6:40, 7:40 and 8:40 a.m. Follow @SidHartman

Andre Patterson has been coaching with Mike Zimmer on and off for 29 years since they first coached together at Weber State in 1988, when Patterson coached the defensive line and Zimmer was defensive coordinator.